Carol Stream transferring part of Armstrong Park to county
In a move to facilitate a $7 million stormwater management project at Carol Stream’s Armstrong Park, the park district has agreed to transfer ownership of part of the site to DuPage County.
The village board, which signed off on the transfer this week, in May approved final plans for construction of two aboveground reservoirs in Armstrong Park and a siphon to release stormwater to a downstream point in Klein Creek. The plan is aimed at easing flooding in the park and nearby neighborhood.
The project, being coordinated by DuPage County, still awaits approval of an application for a state dam safety permit.
A county spokeswoman said the ownership transfer is a “last step” in a permit process being reviewed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Office of Water Resources.
The property transfer applies only to the area of the park that will house the large reservoir and should make it easier to require the necessary state permit for the project.
“It was a clearer path to the permit if they (the county) owned the land; it just paves the way to get the project going smoother,” said Arnie Biondo, the park district’s executive director. “From the park board standpoint, the transfer made more sense. It clarifies forever the maintenance of the stormwater facility.”
Officials had hoped much of the project would be completed this year and razed the park’s Aldrin Community Center in spring 2012 to make way for the stormwater reservoir.
In September, though, county officials said a delay in securing a state permit likely would push back construction until spring 2014.
Biondo said he’s been told approval of the dam permit is “imminent” and bids for the project likely will go out in the next several weeks.
Based on the new agreement, the county will assume responsibility for the stormwater control facility, including a 16-foot berm surrounding the reservoir where water will be pumped when the retention area fills.
“Their responsibility is the structural integrity of that berm,” Biondo said. “That’s the kind of thing we have no expertise in.”
The park district, meanwhile, will maintain a walking and biking trail that will be outside the perimeter of the basin.